Accredited official statistics

Settlement

Published 25 August 2016

Valid: 25 August 2016 to 30 November 2016

Data relate to the year ending June 2016 and all comparisons are with the year ending June 2015, unless indicated otherwise.

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1. Key facts

There were 67,414 people granted permission to stay permanently in the year ending June 2016, 36% fewer (-37,564) than the previous year. The decrease was largely accounted for by a fall in family (-19,286) and work-related (-9,352) grants. The number of grants is low relative to the peak number of grants in the year ending September 2010 (241,586), and similar to levels seen in 1998 (69,789).

Work-related grants to stay permanently fell by 23% to 31,583 (- 9,352) in the year ending June 2016. There were falls in grants to Tier 1 High Value individuals (by 5,021 to 15,416) and in the Tier 2 Skilled Work category (by 3,077 to 12,472).

Family-related grants to stay permanently fell by over two-thirds to 8,410 (-19,286) in the year ending June 2016. There were notable decreases in grants to wives (by 11,201 to 4,679), husbands (by 6,092 to 2,036) and children (by 1,818 to 1,518). This may partly reflect changes to the rules in July 2012 on how quickly partners qualify for settlement and the number of visas and extensions granted in previous years. Details of the July 2012 rule changes are included in the Family section of the user guide.

Asylum-related grants to stay permanently fell by 32% to 14,278 in the year ending June 2016, similar to the level seen in the year ending June 2014 (14,806) and significantly lower than the peak in 2005 of 67,810.

These year-on-year comparisons of decisions numbers can be affected by changes in case-work resource allocation. Such fluctuations can be examined in more detail in the quarterly data that are also available in the published tables.

2. Grants to stay permanently by reason, and refusals

Year Total decisions Total grants Work Asylum Family Other Refusals
Year ending June 2012 146,401 140,911 68,967 12,494 48,310 11,140 5,490
Year ending June 2013 159,131 154,174 60,994 20,860 60,286 12,034 4,957
Year ending June 2014 125,704 119,095 48,459 14,806 41,228 14,602 6,609
Year ending June 2015 109,448 104,978 40,935 20,856 27,696 15,491 4,470
Year ending June 2016 73,592 67,414 31,583 14,278 8,410 13,143 6,178
Change: latest 12 months -35,856 -37,564 -9,352 -6,578 -19,286 -2,348 1,708
Percentage change -33% -36% -23% -32% -70% -15% +38%

Table notes

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics April to June 2016, Settlement table se 02 q.

The chart below illustrates longer-term trends in grants to stay permanently for the calendar years back to 2004.

The chart shows the number of people granted settlement by calendar year from 2004. The data are available in Table se 02.

Chart notes

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics April to June 2016, Settlement table se 02.

4. Nationalities granted permission to stay permanently

Of the total 90,839 grants of permission to stay permanently in 2015, over two-fifths (41% or 37,107) were to nationals of South Asia and nearly a quarter (23% or 20,927) were to nationals of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Top 5 nationalities granted permission to stay permanently, 2015

(Total number of grants: 90,839, includes dependants)

The chart shows grants of settlement by nationality in 2015. These top 5 nationalities accounted for almost half (47%) of total grants in 2015. The chart is based on data in Table se 03.

Chart notes

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics April to June 2016, Settlement table se 03.

5. Data tables

Further data are available in Settlement tables se 01 to se 06.

6. Background information

The figures in this section relate to the number of people, subject to immigration control, who are granted or refused permission to stay permanently in the UK, known as settlement.

From 2003 onwards, dependants of European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals in confirmed relationships may be shown separately in figures on issues and refusals of permanent residence documents, rather than in figures about settlement. Figures on issues and refusals of permanent residence documentation to EEA nationals and their family members are shown in EEA table ee 02 in the Family topic.

The numbers of applications and decisions about permission to stay permanently reflect changes over time in levels of those entering the country, as well as policy and legislative changes. These may affect the number of people potentially eligible to stay permanently. The availability and allocation of resources within the Home Office can also affect the number of decisions.

6.1 Migration Transparency Data webpage

A range of key input and impact indicators are currently published by the Home Office on the Migration transparency data webpage.

6.2 Staying in the UK

In February 2016, the Home Office published its ‘Migrant journey: sixth report’, which shows how non-EEA migrants change their immigration status or achieve settlement in the UK.